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Wolverines prove to be one of Canada's best

There were some strong emotions in the Wolverines locker room after the team won the bronze medal at nationals.

It wasn't because they had their hearts set on winning gold and walked away with bronze, but rather because they will soon walk away from each other.

"It's emotional," said Ryan Whelen, who started with the team in 2008. "It's been an amazing four years."

Whelen, Mitch Rose and Mason Lyle have all been with the team for the past four years. For many of those years, the gold provincial medal was something they couldn't seem to get their hands on. This year, they finally won it and the chance to compete nationally at the Keystone Cup, held in Saskatoon last Thursday to Sunday.

Going into the tournament, the team wanted to win gold, said Lyle.

"We wish we would have been playing in the gold medal game but it's nice to finish with a win," he said, adding the Whitecourt Wolverines are the third-best team in the country.

In all honesty, they are probably the best team. Head coach Norm Lacombe said the gold medal slipped away all because of one bad period in a game against the Ontario team, where the Wolverines lost 7-4.

Nobody quite knows why the team lost to the Thunder Bay Northern Hawks other than to say they just didn't show up mentally. The loss meant the Wolverines had to beat the undefeated team of the tournament - the Abbotsford Pilots. In true Wolverines fashion, they stepped up to the challenge and beat the Pilots 8-1.

"I believe we had the best team," said Lacombe. "We had one bad period where we gave up some goals."

That one period was the demise of the team's run for gold. But Lacombe said being the third best team in the country is an honour, a great way to end the season.

"It was awesome," said Lacombe about his time with the Wolverines. "My life is hockey, from playing to training to coaching.

"This is a special group of young men."

Assistant coach Pierre Luc Racette said this season for himself, and the players, created a lot of memories.

The Wolverines won the league's Senator Cup and then the provincial Russ Barnes Cup, topped with a national bronze medal. Racette said not winning gold

at nationals shouldn't take away from the other accomplishments.

"I'm not disappointed. We need to hold our heads high," he said. "We can't be ashamed of being one of the top teams in the country."

The team also broke records along the way and have many accolades to be proud of. For example, no team from the North Western Junior Hockey League has ever made it to nationals. Also, the Wolverines were the first team in 36 years to win provincials.

Perhaps all of the accomplishments hadn't quite sunk in yet.

"It'll settle in later," said Mason.

Many thoughts were racing through the players minds. For the players who can't return next year due to age, such as Mason and Whelen, they will definitely be saying goodbye to the team.

"We're like a family so it's sad to see everyone go," said Mason.

One player who Mason feels was there and will always be there is Elias Lachance, a former teammate who was killed in a car accident last year.

"He'd be proud of us," said Mason. "He's looking down on us. I wish he could have been here."

Whelen said the support of the "top-notch" fans throughout the season was unbelievable. The fans, the billet families and the entire town of Whitecourt deserve praise, they said.

The Wolverines had an large following at the Keystone Cup. About 80 fans sat in the stands throughout the four-day tournament and cheered the Wolverines to victory. In no way were the fans disappointed with the bronze medal finish.

Bev Budgell and her daughter Samantha are volunteers for the Wolverines organization who made the eight-hour trip to Saskatoon to watch the entire tournament.

"They do better every year," said Bev. "For their first year here (at nationals) they did great."

The team management will take a few days off and then meet to discuss the future of the team, said general manager Joey Bouchard.

With talk of a Junior A team coming to Whitecourt, Bouchard and team owner Brent Stark will have to talk about how that would affect the Whitecourt Wolverines.

For now, everyone involved with the Wolverines is just enjoying the accomplishments of the season.

To view more photographs from the Keystone Cup, visit the Whitecourt Star's Facebook page.